PDQ OWNERS FORUM

I live in Tuscaloosa, AL but keep my boat on the coast (about 5 hrs away). Next time I'm down there, I'll take some pictures and post them. Ed

I’m on the tail-in (thank goodness!) of a complete re-do of the interior of my PDQ 36 which involved refinishing the floors, bulkheads, replacing the ceiling liners, and refinished all of the cabinets. Be careful that you do not sand too much, as the surface wood on the bulkheads is a very thin vene...

My boat is one of the older models, hull #17. I've had a rather beefy arch built that included an aft bench seat and a platform on top for mounting four large solar panels plus davits. I moved the traveler from the track on the aft deck up to the arch, well above the bench seat. Instead of a hard tr...

I also own a PDQ 36 Classic. A couple of years ago, I replaced the original gas water heater with an Excel in the aft starboard locker. It had one of those flashlight batteries that produced the spark to ignite the heater. Turned out it was NOT a salty air friendly device -- it quickly started sever...

Is anyone using the Simrad WP32 Wheelpilot autopilot system? Evaluation?

Thanks, Ed

FYI

Below is a link for purchasing fiberglass propane tanks. The 20 lb tank is too large to fit in the locker. Ed

http://shop.sailboatowners.com/detail.h ... group=1082

Ah, the memories! When I brought my boat from Annapolis to Alabama back in April ‘03, my mother (81 at the time) and I were headed down the Chesapeake in a good 20+ knot wind . The boat was new to me and I was still trying to figure out when to reef... thoroughly enjoying the thrill of finally ownin...

Just musing... One might consider using a deck water filler plug. It's tapered all around so it would create minimal interruption in the water flow. To drain the keels, you would just use the key to unscrew the cap. To install it, one would need to cut the pipe off flush so that it would allow maxim...

I'd thought (briefly) about this many times, so be sure and let everyone know if you do it and how it turns out, Ed

A very simple solution to the rudder post bend (when the rudder is touching the hull and thus won't steer) is to lower the rudder post down about an inch. Just loosen the quadrant bolts and tap the top of the post with a hammer. The post itself is plenty long for this. This works for the older model...

My experience with silicon has not been good at all. While it works as a temporary stop-gap measure, it usually does not hold up under uv rays. As weird as this sounds, I've been using a black sealant used in roofing applications, and it has worked really well. So well, in fact, that I don't have to...

Yup. Got me on that one!

I've installed Alpenglow lights throughout my boat. They are a bit pricey, but are VERY efficient -- they put out more alums than halogens, but use very little power and are great looking I highly recommend them. I recently had a lens break in one of mine, and I tried to order a replacement, but Alp...

I've used Scandvik products and believe it or not, their surfaces are subject to corrosion in salty air. To prevent it, periodically wipe the fixtures off with a product called "Corrosion X" -- it's great stuff. It will keep the facets looking new for years. Otherwise, they look like crap ...

I've never tried it myself, but I have a close friend who uses his lifelines as his antenna and he says it works great. The limited science knowledge I have suggest that it is a good idea to ground the alumn. tank. On the other hand, my superstitious side says something really doesn't feel right abo...